An Interview With Martita Mestey
Celebrate the small wins. I think a lot of us find ourselves constantly reaching upwards, setting remarkable goals and targets to achieve. And that’s great. But what often happens is we don’t pause to appreciate how far we’ve already come and we may end up missing the smaller things that have already been achieved and that compound into significant progress
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Architect Nneoma Asinugo, AIA, NCARB
America’s affordable housing crisis and aging infrastructure are draining billions from the economy and widening the equity gap, but the solution isn’t just policy, it’s design. Nneoma Asinugo is reimagining how architecture can rebuild trust, opportunity, and access. Her mission is to embed equity into the blueprint of American cities through schools that uplift communities, housing that fosters dignity, and civic spaces that serve everyone. By championing sustainable and human-centered design at every level, she’s helping America become not just more beautiful, but more just, resilient, and economically vibrant.
With nearly a decade of experience leading projects in higher education, housing, corporate, and civic spaces, Nneoma blends architectural excellence with social purpose. She’s a Project Architect and serves on the Board of Directors for AIA St. Louis, where she also contributes to the J.E.D.I. (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Committee. A Kansas State University graduate and AIA Henry Adams Medal recipient, Nneoma champions early exposure to architecture for underrepresented youth and believes the future of American design depends on who gets to imagine it.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I’ve always been passionate about art and I love creating things, burrowing into my imagination, bringing ideas to life. Growing up in Nigeria, there was a set of popular and coveted titles to aim for — doctor, lawyer, maybe engineer. I stumbled upon architecture as a career option early on in secondary school (middle + high school). It seemed to be the perfect opportunity to have an outlet for my creative side while maintaining a stable career.
In college, I quickly learned that architecture was much more involved and intricate than simply designing buildings and spaces. The complexity and robustness intrigued me. I got a job at a multi-disciplinary design firm and started working with a group of talented professionals who were eager to both teach and learn, constantly pushing boundaries and taking a step back to reflect and strategize. A couple of years in, two architects I’d never met before reached out to me to get involved in our local AIA (American Institute of Architects). I had never really considered having an active role in the organization, but I’m glad I dove in because I’ve been able to foster change beyond my firm and regular project work through that.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
My local AIA committee organizes surveys every couple of years to gauge how our region is improving in matters related to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in architecture. The first year we pulled the survey together, we got an unexpected email soon after the form was published. The author of the message was appalled by the terms we had used in the section about ability statuses. As a person with disabilities, she had been excited to see the survey come through but was completely taken aback by what she encountered.
I felt my body grow heavy. We had inadvertently done the opposite of what we set out to do. While trying to promote awareness, we displayed ignorance. We immediately reached out to apologize and make amends. Despite how tense we viewed the situation; the architect was gracious. She understood our intentions and helped us gain more understanding of the nuances in phrasing, and she even became one of our committee’s advisors.
That experience reinforced how important it is to have different people at the table. Our team didn’t have all the answers, and we didn’t represent the full gamut of people. We learned that truly doing our research involved connecting directly with people of diverse perspectives. And we learned how to turn an awkward situation into a positive opportunity.
Can you describe how you or your organization is making a significant social impact?
My focus can be grouped into two broad categories: impact on society through design, and impact on current and prospective designers/architects. I find value in not only organizing and spearheading efforts, but also in getting behind what others are already doing and supporting their cause. Through my volunteer work with the AIA and our industry partners, I stimulate positive and lasting change in the way we practice and in the way we design. There is at times a disconnect between designers and the people they design for, and this leads to solutions that are merely surface-level and don’t have a strong impact. Concurrently, the architecture profession itself struggles with attracting and retaining diverse talent. Locally, the demographics of our profession don’t resemble the demographics of our region. The programs and resources I help organize/assemble aim to educate and support people, empowering them to step up and be the force of change.
My team and I are big on social impact, recognizing the importance of getting out in the community and making a difference whether that’s with firm-wide volunteer days, pro-bono work, being intentional in our project approach, or seeking out clients who are making strides in uplifting our communities. I also volunteer with my church as that offers so many opportunities to give back to our city and invest in our neighbors.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
There was a 2-part event focused on mental health that I coordinated with my AIA committee. One segment was focused on how to properly design for mental health, which can easily be overlooked or misunderstood. The other part was how we as designers take care of our own mental health — also often overlooked as most designers push themselves to burn out.
We split the participants into smaller groups to better facilitate earnest conversations. Overall, the discussions were insightful, but one designer in particular took the opportunity to be vulnerable. She shared her silent concerns about herself in the workplace, the challenges she faced with work-life balance and feeling like achieving such balance would jeopardize her path to corporate leadership. After talking through these issues, she made up her mind to not be passive about the situation. In her office, she pulled together a team of volunteers that was centered around promoting well-being in the firm and outlining beneficial practices that leadership could formally implement. It was exciting for me to see the sparks that came from simply creating a space for conversation.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
The first thing would be prioritizing equity and the need for constructive and persisting social impact. Some people see this as a fleeting trend that’s cool to chat about for a bit then we can move on to the next thing despite lots of issues not actually getting addressed or resolved. Educating yourself and others on the issues that exist, historical and current influences and viable paths forward is critical. There’s so much we as individuals and as groups overlook because we do not have direct experience with the situation, but our collective advancement indirectly affects everyone.
That leads to the second thing. We need to dedicate resources and attention to the matters at hand — whether that’s funding more programs for kids from underrepresented demographics to gain proper exposure to various STEAM fields; or building resilient communities that can better withstand and recover from increasing environmental and climate disasters; or pushing for practices and design standards that allow our neurodiverse population to thrive.
The third would be more effective collaboration. Every entity, organization or group has something to contribute and roles to play. However, results are disconnected and not truly comprehensive if everyone only works in silos. There has to be active and continuous dialogue among members of the community, members of design professions, people with political influence, and other entities involved or present.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
At its core, true leadership is service. It’s lending oneself to a collective purpose, being able to recognize and play on your team’s combined and individual strengths while supporting development in other areas. Leaders are impact driven and empower others towards a collaborative vision. It seems intuitive that leadership is more of a mindful skillset and less of an official title, but we often neglect to discern that.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1. Hold onto your passions/interests outside your occupation. Going back several years to my college days, I found myself spending more time on coursework and projects and increasingly less time on the hobbies I enjoyed. This carried through to my professional life with work, licensure, organizations, and so on. When I resolved to get back into more leisure activities, it was surprisingly daunting. Ultimately, engaging in other activities is part of what sparks and inspires creative, innovative ideas or connections when regular tasks seem stale and unmotivating.
2. It’s ok for particular interests to change. Seemingly contrary to above, I think it’s important to realize that you don’t have to keep doing the same things forever. There’s a distinction between our core passions and how they manifest. I used to feel bad about not doing specific things I loved when in actuality, I had just transitioned to doing new things that still captured the overall spirit of what I did before.
3. Capitalize on your strengths; show up as yourself. Over the past few years, I’ve been thrown into more public-facing roles. As an introvert who enjoys her personal time and working more behind the scenes, I’ve continuously had to step out of my comfort zone. Sometimes there’s the pressure to morph into someone else to better fit the part — a more bubbly, loquacious, all-round people-person. What truly matters is speaking up when something needs to be said and giving your best effort while expanding your skills and growing into a stronger version of you.
4. People will lose interest in the cause; you have to keep it going. It’s getting a bit easier to see which organizations or individuals only hop on the train because it’s popular at the time or they’re feeling outside pressure to do so. It can be discouraging when all those folks start to drop off and suddenly, it seems like no one really cares and there’s a ridiculous amount of pushback, but you have to keep pushing for what you believe in.
5. Celebrate the small wins. I think a lot of us find ourselves constantly reaching upwards, setting remarkable goals and targets to achieve. And that’s great. But what often happens is we don’t pause to appreciate how far we’ve already come and we may end up missing the smaller things that have already been achieved and that compound into significant progress
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Pay it forward! And I don’t mean the social media pattern of ‘Look at the nice thing I did. I’m so amazing.’ I mean do something positive for someone else, no matter how big or small, without expecting recognition or something in return. It could be for someone you know or a total stranger or a group of people. If everyone keeps paying the thoughtfulness forward, it’d be amazing to see the ripple effect on our communities and relationships.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life? “It always seems impossible until it’s done” — Nelson Mandela
Depending on the phrasing, it could be credited to other people as well. The point is that we tackle monumental goals — around equity, sustainability, diversity & inclusion, and so on — and while that can be exciting, it can also be rather daunting. The main focus is to keep moving forward. Baby steps are still steps and every bit counts.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
This is a hard one — there are so many incredible people who would be awesome to meet and my choices are all over the place. As a creative, one person that comes to mind is Hayao Miyazaki. I appreciate the way he inspires people through storytelling. At first glance, his animations are seen as just children’s movies, yet his films explore complex themes. They’re also well-layered, featuring a somewhat simple but beautiful and engaging art style. I enjoy seeing people who have honed their craft and are able to influence others through what and how they create.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can follow me on LinkedIn: nneoma-asinugo.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Social Impact Heroes: How Architect Nneoma Asinugo Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.